


Double Date

by thenostalgicdreamer



Series: Waiting for Dawn series [2]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, Loss, Love, Waiting for Dawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 04:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16340015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenostalgicdreamer/pseuds/thenostalgicdreamer
Summary: Going on a double date gets Zay reflecting about the nature of hope.





	Double Date

Zay is feeling slightly flustered when their taxi pulls up in front of the restaurant where they are going for their double date. They are ten minutes late, and Izzy has been complaining that their punctuality needs to improve. Ten minutes late is still in the fashionably late range, so Zay can’t quite understand why she is making such a big deal over it and saying that she is embarrassed. He takes her arm and decides to do the best thing he can—chalk her attitude up to pregnancy hormones. If he does that, he knows he’ll be able to keep himself from arguing with her more.

He’s feeling calmer when they walk through the door and give their name to the host. Glancing around as they follow him to the corner booth that Farkle always reserves, he notices that the restaurant looks just the same as the last time they were here, and he feels a sense of deja vous. It has been a long time since they last came, but he and Izzy have been here countless times to meet Riley and Farkle for a double date. They always eat in the same corner booth where they swap stories about work and life and their kids.

When they reach the booth of choice, Farkle and Maya stand up to greet them. Maya gives them both hugs, and Zay can’t help thinking about how glad he is to see her. Out of all the old gang, she’s the one they have seen the least; she has been traveling almost constantly since college. When she has been back in the city, she has been too busy visiting Riley and Farkle and her parents to have time to catch up with old friends very often. She looks very well, and there’s this undertone of settledness that Zay doesn’t think he’s ever seen in her before. Perhaps it’s the diamond ring on her finger or the fact that for the first time in her life, she is permanently taken. She’s smiling shyly as she congratulates Izzy on the pregnancy and tells her she looks like an adorable little pregnant woman. Zay chuckles at that. Of course, he thinks she’s adorable, but he always thinks she’s adorable because she’s his Izzy and she can’t be anything else to him. Still, it’s been a long time since anyone else has told her that because to be frank she’s huge this time. She has a good excuse or two of them in fact, but it still doesn’t make her stop complaining about how ugly she thinks she looks. He silently thanks Maya for what she’s done to help put Izzy’s fears to rest.

Farkle comes around after Maya and gives Zay a bro hug. After he pulls away, Zay studies his face in the light and sees shadows and wrinkles that he is sure were never there before. There’s this quietness and solemnity about him too as if he’s carrying an invisible weight. After they all sit down, it hits Zay in full force that Riley is really gone. The booth seems so empty even though there’s four of them as there always were. Riley’s not there, and Zay can see that he has been making excuses for why she hasn’t been there when he’s seen Farkle. She’s just away; she didn’t come; she’s out of the house today. But staring at the opposite side of the booth where Maya sits at Farkle’s side, he knows for the first time that Riley is really gone never to return. That makes Farkle…a widower. He’s come through the valley that is grieving the loss of the person one loves best. It’s only natural that his demeanor would be sad and his face slightly haggard. He’s been through a lot, and thinking about it that way, Zay feels that he’s done remarkably well.

What if it had been Izzy? The thought runs through him like an arrow. There were four of them; it just as easily could have been Izzy instead of Riley who had the ectopic pregnancy with complications. But no, Izzy is alive and well, and the twins seem to be well too. Zay is overwhelmed with gratitude that he gets to keep his dear wife longer. He can’t imagine life without her. She’s his woman, the person who he understands and loves and supports him like no other, and he’s not sure he could face life if she weren’t at his side. He pulls Izzy to his side desperate not to waste a single moment of the time they have together.

He glances at Farkle and thinks of how much he admires Farkle’s courage. It is nothing short of remarkable that he’s alright, just sad after such a loss. So many people don’t weather such a storm without losing their way. Yet, Farkle is here alive and well, and he’s chosen Maya to walk the path beside him. Maya will treat him well, and the two of them will be as happy as they can be together. Zay can see that they already are. They aren’t acting like teenagers in love which is appropriate he supposes because they’re not, but Maya’s eyes sparkle when she looks at him, and she’s holding his hand. Maybe Farkle doesn’t say much about her or them, but Zay can hear the warmth and admiration in his voice when he mentions her.

They are very much still grieving. He sees that in the quiet stillness that consumes them both; he can just tell that they are constantly thinking of Riley and wishing she were still there with them. But there’s signs that their hearts are healing too. Farkle’s tone has hints of optimism, and Maya is smiling again. It honestly warms Zay’s heart to see them and to think that it is possible to move beyond tragedy and find hope again. It is like when out of the cold, hard winter ground plants sprout that will one day bloom and flower. It’s beautiful, and he can’t describe how much it inspires him. He doesn’t know what to say to them, so he simply smiles knowing that the words will come when the time is right.


End file.
